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Tip: to Japan for winter sports

There’s a good reason why Japan has already twice played host to the Winter Olympics: the mountains of northern and central Japan have wonderful slopes waiting for winter sports fans. Hundreds of ski resorts, often covered in powder snow, will gladden the hearts of all skiers and snowboarders. That’s why we are warmly recommending that you enjoy the cold winter in wonderful Japan! 

General Information

Hot springs, beautiful autumn mountain scenery and Fuji-san. These are probably just a few of the more enduring images of Japanese nature. The white wonderland that many of the Japanese mountains transform into for a third of the year may come as a surprise to many.

Japanese winters are cold and severe and for city dwellers the winter season may well be their least favorite time of the year. But for many, skiers and snowboarders, winter is by far the best season as they are treated to some of the heaviest snowfalls and best quality snow in the world. With ski resorts dotted around the mountainsides throughout Japan, incredibly a large percentage of the Japanese population is literally within hours of quality skiing and snowboarding action. Many of the resorts are small local ski hills, but there are still a few hundred decently sized resorts to choose from, including a number of large world-class resort towns and regions. A fair number of these ski resort towns are also natural hot springs, and this combination of a day on the slopes followed by a soak in an onsen makes the Japanese ski experience irresistible to many. 

There are around 600 ski and snowboard resorts throughout Japan all the way down from the northern island of Hokkaido to the southern island of Kyushu. The first snowfall of the season usually arrives in the north in November and the majority of resorts are able to open in the month of December, meaning that a White Christmas is almost guaranteed in the mountains of Japan. Another impressive feature of the Japanese snow season is the huge quantities of snow that fall - some resorts during the peak season report a snow depth of 6 or 7 meters!  So reliable are the snowfalls that if you are in Japan during the period January to mid-March, you are almost guaranteed excellent snow conditions. Such huge quantities of snowfall also means that many regions have a long ski season, with some resorts in higher locations being able to stay open until around in early May. 

Snowboarding arrived in Japan in the early 90's and at first only a few ski resorts allowed snowboarders on their slopes. That quickly changed as snowboarding became more fashionable than skiing and now there are only a small number of skiers-only resorts remaining. Currently the number of skiers and snowboarders on the slopes in general is even. The number of resorts currently offering terrain parks and items is now increasing and is probably a trend that will continue.

Skiing and snowboarding in Japan is actually relatively inexpensive when compared to other countries. For example, a one-day lift ticket will typically cost around 4000-4500 yen, sometimes cheaper, and many resorts now also offer a large range of tickets including half-day, multi-day and season passes. Ski and snowboard equipment, as well as ski and snowboard wear, is also available at the vast majority of resorts so you do not need to be fully kitted out in order to give it a try.

The attractive packages including travel, accommodation and lift tickets are often available at travel agents, and you will also find good deals by contacting hotels directly if you want to plan your own trip.

There are many resorts within easy reach of Tokyo and even day trips are possible. Within 2 hours you will be able to visit ski resorts in Niigata, Gunma, Tochigi and Nagano and within 3 hours the options greatly increase.

More information here.

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